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Save or No Save?
To be eligible for a save, a pitcher must satisfy one of the following conditions: enter the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitch at least one inning; enter the game with the potential tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck; or pitch at least three innings. (Prior to 2007, the three-inning save eligibility required “effectiveness.”)
On June 10, 1982, Minnesota had an 8-4 lead over Kansas City in the top of the ninth. The Royals had a runner on third with one out when Ron Davis relieved Pete Redfern with a 3-0 count on John Wathan. Davis’s first pitch was a ball, completing the walk to Wathan, which was charged to Redfern. This put the tying run on deck, one of the criteria necessary for a save for a pitcher pitching less than one inning. Davis completed the inning (although in true R. D. fashion, he made it interesting by giving up a double and single in between the final outs), and the Twins held on for an 8-7 win.
Did Davis get a save?
Answer below
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Hot Stove Saturday Social-Distancing Seventh-Inning-Stretch Scooter and Stroll
The May edition of The Holy Cow! included a picture of Sarah Johnson posing in front of her future residence on the intial Saturday Morning Stroll. Below is a picture of the future residence of Brenda Himrich and her husband.
Brenda was not present (at least not above the ground) for the photo. In case you’re wondering, that is a cremation plot. It’s not large enough to fit entire bodies—unless you tamped down on them real hard, of course. In addition to walking around Lakewood Cemetery, the group has scootered and strolled around Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska.
A hearty quartet outlasted the weather and celebrated Halsey Hall’s birthday with a walk around Lake Nokomis May 23. Weather permitting, the scooter-strollers will circumvent Lake Nokomis again on Saturday, May 30. Those interested may gather at 11 a.m. in the morning at the home of Art Mugalian, 5033 18th Avenue South. As we get into June, the Lake Nokomis walk may culminate with a lunch of Juicy Lucys at the 5-8 Club if outdoor seating is permitted there. The Saturday morning strolls will continue indefinitely at 11:00 although the one on June 13 will be at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon to allow for the chapter meeting in the morning.
Contact Brenda’s husband if you would like to be notified of future strolls.
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New Member
The Halsey Hall Chapter welcomes Hal Campbell.
Know a potential member? Here are resources for getting that person happily involved in SABR:
Membership application
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Cow Pies
Anthony Bush had an article published on the 1980 Proctor Rails baseball team published in the May 7, 2020 Proctor Journal on page 11: 1980 Rails Baseball: Impossible to Forget. On page 10 of the May 14 Journal, he had another article on the Rails: Sixty-seven Years Since the Last Time There Was No Rails Baseball.
Dan Levitt and another chapter member have research articles that will appear in 50 at 50: The Society for American Baseball Research’s Fifty Most Essential Contributions to the Game.
Several chapter members have had articles published in the SABR BioProject and Games Project, respectively:
Sarah also had a guest column related to the above game story in the April-May-June (Daisy Duck Family Edition) 2020 newsletter of the SABR Official Scoring Research Committee.
Mike Haupert wrote the first of a three-part series of the ownership history of the Chicago Cubs as well as an article on the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in the Spring 2020 “Outside the Lines,” the newsletter of SABR’s Business of Baseball Committee newsletter.
A chapter member was part of a feature on Nicollet Park that aired on KSTP-TV on May 4: So Minnesota: Baseball Historian Discusses Long-gone Nicollet Park.
Dan VanDeMortel is a recipient of the 2020 McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award for “White Castles Drawn in Crayon,“ a story of the shooting death of Barney Doyle at the Polo Grounds in 1950, which appeared in an anthology, The Polo Grounds: Essays and Memories of New York City’s Historic Ballpark, which was compiled and edited by a chapter member.
Frank White was quoted in Rachel Blount’s story in the May 12, 2020 Star Tribune about Toni Stone: Toni Stone of St. Paul Was First Woman to be a Regular in Men’s Pro Baseball
Frank is also adding stories to his website, Minnesota Black Baseball Project, and will soon have a profile of Harold “Babe” Price.
Cookie Was Hung
Anthony Bush found this nugget in the June 21, 1961 Duluth News Tribune:
“Cookie Hung in Effigy, The Minnesota Twins defeated Baltimore Tuesday night but before the game was over Twins’ Manager Cookie Lavagetto was hung in effigy—from a bridge. Clyde Brand, 348 Swan Lake Road, reported a life-like dummy resembling Lavagetto was found hanging from the MD&IR bridge at Grand Avenue near Carlton Avenue. Lavagetto follows University of Minnesota football Coach Murray Warmath as the favorite subject for such local pranksters.”
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Better than Rubbing Dirt on It?
Old Twins fans may remember Doc Lentz coming out to spray ethyl chloride on a player, and Halsey, Ray, or Herb would let us know that Doc was freezing the bruised area to numb it.
However, a researcher at Keele University in England claims to have found a more effective method of pain relief, one that athletes may be well-practiced in:
Pain Experiment Shows There Really Is Something Soothing About Saying The ‘f’ Word
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Save or No Save?
Davis was originally credited with a save; however, the decision was later reversed and the save removed since the tying run was not on deck at the exact time that Davis entered the game. Surprise: Davis was upset.
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Calendar
June 13—Virtual Spring Chapter Meeting, 9:00 a.m. For more information, contact Dave Lande, 651-770-8666. Rescheduled from May 2
June 14—Townball: Elko Express at Rochester Royals, Mayo Field. For more information, contact Howard Luloff, 952-922-5036. Tentative
July 11—Fred Souba Hot Stove League Saturday Morning, Bunny’s, Minneapolis, 9:00 a.m. Rescheduled from May 8
August 1—Book Club, Barnes & Noble, Har Mar Mall, Roseville, 9:30 a.m., The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci. Rescheduled from April 11 and June 13
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Board of Directors 2019-2020
President—Dave Lande
Vice President—Hans Van Slooten
Secretary—Anders Koskinen
Treasurer—Jerry Janzen
Jim Cox
Gene Gomes
Frank Kadwell
Events Committee Chair—Howard Luloff
Research Committee Chairs—Brenda Himrich and Sarah Johnson
The Holy Cow! Editor—Stew Thornley
Webmaster—John Gregory
Ass. Webmasters—Frank Kadwell, Hans Van Slooten, and Stew Thornley
Social Media Directors—Tom Flynn, Twitter; Bob Komoroski, Facebook
Halsey Hall Chapter Web Page
Past issues of The Holy Cow! are available on-line.
Chapter History
Chapter Procedures and By-Laws
Society for American Baseball Research
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Resources
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